Approved Training

Perinatal Substance Use Disorder (SUD): Practice, Policy and Equity Considerations for Providing Care in the Fourth Trimester and Beyond

Overview

Objectives:

Participants of this webinar will be able to:

Recognize SUD-related risk factors contributing to the rise of maternal morbidity and mortality in the fourth trimester.
Identify barriers to treatment and recovery postpartum individuals with SUD encounter.
Understand strategies that can advance evidence-based care to better support postpartum individuals with SUD.
Discover federal and state policy levers and resources that are available to improve maternal health outcomes and address health care inequities experienced by pregnant and parenting individuals with SUD.

Training Hours by Domain

Recovery / Wellness 1.00 hrs

Total Hours 1.00

Applies to Certifications

Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS)

Location: AHEC West (Maryland Area Health Education Center West)
39 Baltimore Street
Suite 201
Cumberland, MD 21502
United States
Total Hours: 1 CEU Hours
Dates: Jul 13, 2022
Price: Free
Instructor(s): KARI J. EARLE, MEd

EDUCATION
• MEd, Counseling and
Consulting Psychology,
Harvard University 1996
• BS, Child Development and
Family Relations, University
of Arizona, 1985TOTAL EXPERIENCE
• 29 years

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
• JBS International, Inc.
(Technical Expert Lead,
2019–present)
• SmartStrategy Consulting
Services (Owner, 2002–
present)
• Nevada Public Education
Foundation (Executive
Director, 2009–2010)
• Children and Family Futures,
Inc. (Program Director, 2006–
2010)
• STEP 2, Inc. (Chief Executive
Officer,1996–2002)

LICENSE/CERTIFICATION
• Former NV Licensed Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Counselor
• Former NV Certified Program
Administrator

AWARDS
• 2021 Apex Award of
Excellence for issue brief:
“Working with Tribes to
Provide OUD Services
During the COVID-19
Pandemic 2020”; JBS Team
Member recipient
• 2001 Woman of
Achievement Award
• 1999 Women Helping
Women Award

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Strategy and content leader in cross-sector public and behavioral health
with substantial experience designing, leading, and facilitating a broad
range of systems change initiatives within states, tribes, local
governments, and regional collaboratives to support improved health,
safety, and recovery outcomes.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Technical Expert Lead, Rural Communities Opioid Response
Program, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),
JBS (2019–present)
• Cohort lead for RCORP-NAS grantee cohort, which entails:
• monitoring cohort trends, managing cohort caseloads, working with
HRSA’s Project Coordinator and the TA team to assess cohort TA
needs, and designing TA materials and templates to support
grantees in completing deliverables.
• Responsible for providing technical assistance on rural overdose
prevention projects to HRSA grantees across the United States.
• Leads technical assistance activities including coaching, webinars,
and site visits.
• Serves as a subject matter expert and team resource on perinatal
substance use disorder, maternal health equity, and provision of
culturally responsive technical assistance to tribal communities.
Owner, SmartStrategy Consulting Services (2002–present)
• Sole-proprietor of Reno-based management consulting firm
providing facilitation, coaching, capacity building, and planning
services to a broad range of agencies, government entities
(including tribal nations), and coalitions.
• Specializes in strategic planning, multisystem collaborative capacity
building, organizational development, and technical writing. Recent
efforts have included facilitation of state and national policy
academies and strategic planning initiatives to craft cross-system
solutions to address the opioid crisis; statewide assessment of
regional behavioral health capacity in a largely rural state; provision
of in-depth technical assistance to states and tribes to assist in
addressing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).
• Client list includes public agencies, nonprofit organizations,
coalitions, regional networks, private industry and healthcare
initiatives, addressing issues such as domestic violence, behavioral
health, early childhood, youth development, homelessness, access
to health care, child welfare, problem-solving and healing to
wellness courts, human service networking, and tribal collaboration.
Kari J. Earle, MEd
JBS INTERNATIONAL, INC. 2
Owner, SmartStrategy Consulting Services (2002–present) -continued
• Possesses knowledgeable on current methods and best practices in programming, outcomes monitoring,
screening and assessment, client engagement, and community relations.
• Provides content expertise in the following areas:
o Perinatal health equity
o Treatment for substance use and co-occurring disorders, with emphasis on medication-assisted
treatment, family-centered programming, gender-responsive treatment, and recovery supports
o Special populations: tribes and tribal communities, pregnant and parenting women, adolescents and
transition-age youth, and substance-exposed infants
o Rural and frontier communities (including tribal communities)
o Early childhood care and education
o Child welfare
o Behavioral health care integration into primary care settings
Executive Director, Nevada Public Education Foundation (2009–10)
• Provided ongoing leadership to support strategic objectives of the statewide Foundation.
• Specialized in staff development, programming, advocacy, and building community consensus around
education-related policy and public communications.
• Responsible for organizational development, strategic planning, revenue generation, fiscal oversight, public
relations, networking and facilitation of community and state-level collaboration to ensure that all Nevada
youth are successful in transitioning to college, career, and community.
• Conducted policy-related research and education on barriers to youth success; disseminated promising
practice in Nevada and nationally.
Program Director, Children and Family Futures, Inc. (2006–2010)
• Managed the In-Depth Technical Assistance (IDTA) Program of the National Center for Substance Abuse
and Child Welfare (NCSACW), offered to states, tribes, and county jurisdictions.
• Directly provided technical assistance to 20+ sites, including 6 tribes. Program Director, Children and Family
Futures, Inc. (2006–2010)
• Managed the In-Depth Technical Assistance (IDTA) Program of the National Center for Substance Abuse
and Child Welfare (NCSACW), offered to states, tribes, and county jurisdictions.
• Directly provided technical assistance to 20+ sites, including 6 tribes.
• Assisted with directing internal program operations to ensure the quality of products and programs.
• Represented CFF at national, state, and regional meetings with a variety of stakeholders and
constituencies; facilitated key stakeholder relationships of the NCSACW with national associations.
Research Site Coordinator, JBS (2002–2004)
• Provided site coordination for national family drug treatment court evaluation project in Reno, NV.
• Assisted in a major federal effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the family drug court model for families
affected by substance abuse and involved with child welfare.
• Responsible for data abstraction, planning assistance with client protection protocols, report development,
and collaboration with treatment, court, and child welfare systems across the nation in the areas of crosssystem collaboration, process improvement, sustainability planning, and comprehensive family-centered
treatment.
Kari J. Earle, MEd
JBS INTERNATIONAL, INC. 3
Chief Executive Officer, STEP 2, Inc. (1996–2002)
• Directed all programs and facilities (residential, transitional housing and outpatient) operated by a
community-based, nonprofit treatment agency for low-income pregnant and parenting women and their
families, which concurrently provided case management, childcare, transportation and other critical familycentered services (e.g., domestic violence prevention and treatment).
• Provided fiscal and quality oversight, mission-driven strategic planning, program/funding development, grant
writing, community relations, and public speaking and served as final authority in decision-making process
regarding agency policies and agency-related matters.
• Proven leader in developing collaborative capacity expansion for low-income families involved in multiple
service systems. Restructured and expanded clinical, fiscal, and administrative operations; developed quality
improvement and utilization management systems; generated a 10-fold increase in revenue and developed a
state-of-the art residential campus for families that emphasized safety in recovery; and provided evidencebased treatment and comprehensive onsite support services.
OTHER RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Perinatal Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator, State of Nevada Health Division (1996)
Director of Clinical and Outpatient Services, West Hills Hospital (1991–1996)
PUBLICATIONS/TECHNICAL REPORTS
Earle, K. Tapping Tribal Wisdom: Providing Collaborative Care for Native Pregnant Women with Substance Use
Disorders and Their Infants. National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, 2019.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Pregnant Women with Opioid Dependence:
Practice and Policy Considerations for Child Welfare and Collaborating Service Providers. Rockville, MD:
SAMHSA, 2014. (Served as a primary author)
Young, N. K., Gardner, S., Otero, C., Dennis, K., Chang, R., Earle, K., & Amatetti, S. Substance-ExExposed Infants:
State Responses to the Problem. HHS Pub. No. (SMA) 09-4369. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, 2009